The Loveland TV Tower in the city's center is 470 meters tall, and 120 floors high. It used to be the tallest structure in Loveland City, one of its landmark buildings.
Due to an out-of-control Evol incident two days ago, the tower has been shut down, and nearby streets have all been blocked off.
But surprisingly, what should have been a desolate scene at the foot of the TV tower was actually more lively than usual.
A crowd of women holding signs and banners were gathered in the square in front of it, and circling around them were quite a few reporters and film crews.
MC: What's going on? What happened?
I searched on my phone and found a little story from an unknown source had blown up online-- "Superstar Kiro to Make First Appearance Since Retirement at Loveland TV Tower"
Even though officials from the TV tower dispelled the rumor, the news still spread like wildfire.
No one had seen Kiro since his announcement, and no media outlet could uncover a shred of information on his motivations.
So when this news came out, true or not, it got everybody's attention, and the officials even had to send staff to maintain order.
MC: Did they know you were coming here? Why did they want to expose this?
This had me completely confused. I looked over at Kiro. His expression looked complicated.
Kiro: I think they've already told us.
MC: What?
Kiro pointed at the background of the picture accompanying the article. A string of letters in an inconspicuous place in the shadow of the building- "Warning"
MC: Warning? What do they want to warn about? Is that just a coincidence?
Kiro: Maybe one picture's a coincidence, but it's in all these pictures.
I looked carefully at all the pictures, shocked to find that no matter which media outlet or which picture, I could find a "Warning" in all of them.
MC: What are they trying to warn about...
I looked at the crowd and saw they were all looking around too. Every pair of eyes was a scanner, scanning for anyone suspicious.
MC: There's so many people now. How will we get into the TV tower?
Kiro didn't respond. His sudden silence made me restless.
MC: What's wrong? Is…
Before I could finish, a sharp cry cut me off.
Woman A: Aaahh--! What are you doing!!
Woman B: Let me go! Kiro doesn't need fans like you!
The crowd suddenly erupted in panic. Several women started squabbling for some reason, their emotions getting very heated.
Even from this far, the ear-splitting shouts could be clearly heard.
Not even a few minutes later, the situation escalated and they started hitting each other, and even people nearby trying to pacify them got mixed up in the brawl.
More and more people got swept up in it, and the scene descended into chaos. Even though it was mostly young girls, the situation was terrifying.
MC: Wh-- what's wrong with them?
Posters and signs imprinted with Kiro fell to the ground and were trampled.
The media excitedly raised their cameras to capture the action, not a bit scared of the threat to themselves.
It was full-on pandemonium.
The outburst was quickly quelled by the security guards in charge. When the girls who had first started it were forcibly removed, they were still struggling and acting volatile.
Such a sudden, unreasonable outburst. Could it be...
I looked at Kiro, who was balling his fists and looking on in silence at the chaos before him.
Those eyes that were always full of sunshine were now full of unmistakable pain and worry.
Kiro: Maybe it's a warning they were giving to me...
I felt a stabbing pain in my heart. Kiro had always cared so much about his fans...
How must he feel seeing fans break out into violence before him?
MC: It's just a sudden outburst! And I noticed those girls weren't seriously hurt.
Kiro: Yeah, I told my agent to keep an eye on the situation. He'll be here soon to deal with it.
Though he said that, he was still feeling bad about everything. I didn't know what to do.
Kiro: After we get into the TV tower and get farther away, even if my power gets out of hand again, it won't have a big effect. Now, we need to figure out how to get in.
The disturbance just now opened up quite a few holes in the security around the TV tower, allowing us to get into the underground parking area through a side door.
Kiro took his phone out and opened an app that I'd never seen before.
After he entered a string of numbers, I heard a faint buzzing sound nearby.
Kiro: This can temporarily jam nearby monitoring devices. They didn't have time to set up too many, so reaching the top level won't be hard.
The underground parking had an entrance for employees. Kiro quickly cracked the lock. We had made it smoothly into the TV tower.
Because the tower was temporarily closed, only a few dim lights were on in the underground corridor.
Every fork in the passageway was steeped in darkness, like something was laying in wait there. I looked around, on guard that someone might suddenly appear any time.
Just then, Kiro reached out and grabbed my hand. The sudden warmth took me by surprise.
Kiro: If you're scared, you can hold my hand.
My face started turning red.
MC: I-- I'm not scared. I'm just worried someone will ambush us.
Kiro: They won't be waiting for us in a place like this. Don't worry, I don't think this is their goal.
MC: Oh? What do you think their goal is?
Kiro gripped my hand tightly. I couldn't see his face clearly, but a moment later he answered me.
Kiro: My guess is that this is an experiment of theirs.
MC: An experiment? An Evol experiment?
Kiro: Right. An experiment to amplify Evol abilities. But the experiment failed.
MC: You mean they're using the entire city of Loveland guinea pig?!
Kiro: Maybe not just Loveland City...
We didn't keep discussing the topic, but a seed of doubt was buried in my mind.
If this was all an experiment of Black Swan's, then what role was Lucien playing in it?
What was their objective for luring me to this TV tower?
After the long corridor, we finally reached the ground-floor entrance lobby.
Upon opening the door, the sudden light made me wince, and Kiro quickly put his hand over my eyes.
I blinked, my lashes brushing against his palm, making his hand twitch too.
Kiro: You'll be fine in a second.
When I'd acclimated, Kiro took away his hand. A giant crack in the lobby floor appeared before me.
